Gray eyes and black orbs stared down at each other, not wanting to back down, not wanting to give the man that they both champion. One was a Greek and the other a Roman, two sides of the same coin, but both would rather fight to the death than spend some time with each other. Given that these two are hardened veterans of two prophetic wars, who would will is anyone's guess.
Percy Jackson, the cause of their standoff, is the very picture of a man stuck between a rock and a hard place. True he both loves the girls, but tradition dictates he choose one. It was needless to say that Octavian was having a field day; he was getting more ammunition he could use to dethrone the two Praetors. But in Roman politics, everybody plays everybody, the same goes on in the senate of New Rome.
Unknown to Percy, Reyna his Roman lover has a secret alliance with the hated augur. Yes she hated his guts more than anything but she also knows power when she sees one. The daughter of Belona could use the hapless seer as her glue in holding her seat for a lifetime. If an augur keeps on saying that everything would be bountiful under her rule, then the people would not demand change. For now though, Reyna was locked in combat with Annabeth, in a gladiatorial battle to the death.
This came about when Annabeth caught the two Praetors in a make out session in the Principia and promptly challenged the dark haired beauty to a battle. What the blonde didn't expect was for Reyna to up the stakes. Winner takes all, loser dies. It was this situation that caused this spectacle. Percy, as a Praetor could not root for anyone of the two girls, as he should remain unbiased; his heart however was skipping a beat every time Annabeth would barely dodge an attack from the Roman warrior. The black haired Praetor knew of what was at stake, for the winner would practically become his wife, not to mention his co-Praetor. He had a sneaking suspicion that Reyna wasn't being truthful to him fully. Years of battle practice and actual fights have honed his skills and senses well. Of course there was always the fact that Annabeth is leaps and bounds better than Reyna in the bedroom department.
The fight went on for minutes, that is until Reyna made a minuscule error that pounced upon by Annabeth. The battle ended, a new Praetor was born. With the death of Reyna crashed down the dream of Octavian being in power, and in a surprise, the Romans cheered the Greek for her victory and immediately presented her the purple cape.
There was celebrations everywhere, with many calling it the dawn of a new age. While everyone was busy partying, Percy and Annabeth both snuck out to spend some time with each other. Their moment was beautiful, not interrupted by anything or anyone. Percy couldn't help but feel that he was finally home in the arms of his Annabeth. Annabeth could never be happier, she finally had her man to herself again. Together they both ushered in a new era of co-operation between the two camps. Hand in hand they served, hand in hand they loved, hand in hand, they're two Greeks-turn-Romans.